Chelsea v Liverpool

Chelsea and Liverpool players walk out on to the field atStamford Bridge ahead of theirChampions League tie inApril 2008.
Location	London Liverpool
Teams	Chelsea Liverpool
First meeting	25 December 1907 First Division Liverpool 1–4 Chelsea
Latest meeting	4 October 2025 Premier League Chelsea 2–1 Liverpool
Next meeting	9 May 2026 Premier League Liverpool v Chelsea
Stadiums	Stamford Bridge (Chelsea) Anfield (Liverpool)
Statistics
Meetings total	200
Most player appearances	Jamie Carragher (45)
Top scorer	Ian Rush (10)
All-time series	Chelsea: 67 Drawn: 46 Liverpool: 87
Largest victory	Liverpool 6–0 Chelsea First Division (20 April 1935)
Largest goal scoring	Liverpool 7–4 Chelsea First Division (7 September 1946)
Longest win streak	5 games Liverpool (1972–1974)
Longest unbeaten streak	11 games Liverpool (1985–1990)
Current win streak	2 matches Chelsea (2025–present)
Current unbeaten streak	2 matches Chelsea (2025–present)
Chelsea Liverpool

TheChelsea F.C.–Liverpool F.C. rivalry is an inter-city rivalry between English professionalfootball clubsChelsea andLiverpool. Chelsea play their home games atStamford Bridge, while Liverpool play their home games atAnfield.

Though both clubs have frequently competed in the same division for over a century, the modern rivalry between Chelsea and Liverpool began in the early 2000s, when the two clubs clashed repeatedly in cup competitions, particularly in theFA Cup, theLeague Cup, and theUEFA Champions League. The clubs have competed in seven major cup finals: the2005 League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 afterextra time, the2006 Community Shield, which Liverpool won 2–1, the2012 FA Cup final, which Chelsea won 2–1, the2019 UEFA Super Cup, which Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties, the 2022EFL Cup andFA Cup finals, both of which saw Liverpool win on penalties after two goalless affairs, and the2024 EFL Cup final, which Liverpool won 1–0 after extra time. The two clubs also met in five consecutive Champions League campaigns; in the group stage of the2005–06 season, where both legs finished as goalless draws, in the quarter-finals of the2008–09 season, which Chelsea won 7–5 on aggregate, and in the semi-finals of the2004–05,2006–07 and2007–08 seasons, with Liverpool winning the former two and Chelsea winning the latter one.^[1][2]

Overall, Liverpool have won more of the meetings, defeating Chelsea 87 times to their 67 wins, and a further 46 games ended in draws, as of their latest clash in October 2025. Chelsea's record win over the Reds was a 6–1 thrashing at Stamford Bridge in August 1937, whereas Liverpool's biggest win was a 6–0 home win in April 1935. Liverpool also lead in terms of total trophies won, with 69 to Chelsea's 35.^[3]

In 1904,Gus Mears acquired theStamford Bridge athletics stadium inFulham with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearbyFulham F.C. was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough ofChelsea was chosen for the new club; names likeKensington FC,Stamford Bridge FC andLondon FC were also considered.^[4]Chelsea Football Club was founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook),^[5][6] opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground onFulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.

Chelsea won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in its early years. The team reached the1915 FA Cup final, where they lost toSheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point.^[7] Chelsea had a reputation for signing star players^[8] and attracted large crowds. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons^[9] including1907–08,^[10]1909–10,^[11]1911–12,^[12]1912–13,^[13]1913–14^[14] and1919–20.^[15][16] They were FA Cup semi-finalists in1920 and1932, and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years.

Liverpool Football Club was founded following a dispute between theEverton committee andJohn Houlding, club president and owner of the land atAnfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated toGoodison Park in 1892 and Houlding founded Liverpool F.C. to play at Anfield.^[17] Originally named "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd" (Everton Athletic for short), the club became Liverpool F.C. in March 1892 and gained official recognition three months later, afterThe Football Association refused to recognise the club as Everton.^[18]

Liverpool played their first match on 1 September 1892, a pre-seasonfriendly match againstRotherham Town, which they won 7–1. The team Liverpool fielded against Rotherham was composed entirely of Scottish players—the players who came from Scotland to play in England in those days were known as theScotch Professors.ManagerJohn McKenna had recruited the players after ascouting trip to Scotland—so they became known as the "team of Macs".^[19] The team won theLancashire League in its debut season and joined theFootball League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After the club was promoted to theFirst Division in 1896,Tom Watson was appointed manager. He led Liverpool to its first league title in 1901, before winning it again in 1906.^[20]

Chelsea and Liverpool were not traditional rivals, meeting first for the first time on 25 December 1907 atAnfield in theFootball League First Division, which ended in a 4–1 win for Chelsea. However, for the next 96 years, Chelsea would only manage one single league title, which came in 1955, whereas Liverpool (who were already two-time champions) would go on to win the First Division title sixteen more times, cementing the Reds' status as one of the biggest clubs in England and in Europe, along withmajor rivalsManchester United, whereas Chelsea were considered to be a mid-table club, and their rivalry with Liverpool was non-existent during the years leading up to the 21st century.

We were the new kids on the block who had a few quid and signed a load of players.José Mourinho puffed his chest out and then we kept playing each other. It was a clash of two ideals.

The seeds of the Chelsea vs. Liverpool rivalry were beginning to be sowed in May 2003. The first major meeting that would spark this feud was on the final day of the2002–03Premier League season, where fourth-placed Chelsea were to play fifth-placed Liverpool atStamford Bridge in a clash forUEFA Champions League football. Both teams were level on 64 points, with the Blues having a +8 superior goal difference. The three teams that were above them,Manchester United in 1st,Arsenal in 2nd andNewcastle United in 3rd had already accumulated enough points to qualify fornext season's Champions League, and sixth-placedBlackburn Rovers were unable to qualify, meaning Liverpool had to defeat Chelsea otherwise they would miss out on Champions League football next season. A goal fromSami Hyypiä in the 11th minute put the Reds 1–0 up, but Chelsea equalised just two minutes later throughMarcel Desailly. Fourteen minutes later, Chelsea found themselves ahead via aJesper Grønkjær strike.Steven Gerrard wasdismissed two minutes from full-time, as Chelsea won 2–1 and ensured their place in the Champions League next season, with Liverpool having to settle forUEFA Cup (nowEuropa League) football instead.

In July 2003, long-time chairman of ChelseaKen Bates sold the club to Russian billionaireRoman Abramovich for£140,000,000. Chelsea spent £103,000,000 on transfers in the summer of 2003, which included the signings ofJoe Cole fromWest Ham United andHernán Crespo fromInter Milan. Unlike the previous years, Chelsea under Abramovich had now become serious title contenders, threatening the likes ofManchester United andArsenal, who combined had won ten of the first elevenPremier League titles.

The first meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool after the Abramovich takeover was on the first matchday of thenew campaign, atAnfield. Chelsea won 2–1, courtesy of goals fromJuan Sebastián Verón andJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Liverpool would get revenge in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in January 2004, which sawBruno Cheyrou condemn Chelsea to a 1–0 home defeat. However, despite the mass spend of Chelsea, they would still be unable to win the league, finishing as runners-up to theundefeated Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool finished in fourth place, nineteen points behind Chelsea, but still qualifying for theChampions League.

In the summer of 2004, Chelsea and Liverpool had respectively appointed managersJosé Mourinho andRafael Benítez, which was the beginning of a vicious rivalry between the pair. In their first season as rivals, they clashed five times, including two Premier League victories for Mourinho, both of which finished 1–0 to Chelsea and both of those goals being scored by Joe Cole. In the year 2005 alone, Chelsea and Liverpool met seven times.

On 27 February 2005, Liverpool faced Chelsea in thefinal of theFootball League Cup. This was Liverpool's tenth appearance in aFootball League Cup final, having won seven of them (1981,1982,1983,1984,1995,2001,2003) and losing twice (1978,1987). For Chelsea, this was their fourth appearance in the final, winning the cup final in1965 and1998, and losing in1972. Liverpool had defeatedMillwall,Middlesbrough,Tottenham Hotspur andWatford en route to the final, whereas Chelsea got pastWest Ham United,Newcastle United,West London rivalsFulham andManchester United.

A crowd of 78,000 at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff sawJohn Arne Riise score a volley inside the first minute to put Liverpool ahead. The score remained 1-0 to the Reds for 79 minutes, untilSteven Gerrard headed into his own net from a Chelsea free kick to give the Blues a lifeline. José Mourinho was also made to watch from the stands after making a gesture to the Liverpool fans. The score was 1–1 at full-time, taking the game toextra-time. Goals fromDidier Drogba andMateja Kežman put Chelsea 3–1 up. A goal fromAntonio Núñez a minute later reduced the deficit for Liverpool, but the Blues would triumph 3–2 and win the League Cup for the third time.

Following the match, Mourinho defended the gesture that saw him dismissed, claiming that it had been intended for the media and not Liverpool fans: "The signal of close your mouth was not for them but for the press, they speak too much and in my opinion they try to do everything to disturb Chelsea. Wait, don't speak too soon. We lost two matches and in my opinion you (the media) try to take confidence from us and put pressure on us." Mourinho was happy that Chelsea had won, but said the victory was not special: "It's just one more. I had a few before this, I'm very happy to win. It's important for the fans, for the club and especially for the players."^[22]

Just two months after the League Cup final, the two clubs met yet again in thesemi-finals of theChampions League. The first leg at Stamford Bridge ended in a goalless stalemate, however, in the second leg at Anfield, Liverpool controversially won 1–0, thanks to a goal scored byLuis García, which despite Chelsea's attempts to clear the ball off the line, the goal was given. It was dubbed as a "ghost goal" by José Mourinho, which popularised the term for other future incidents. This would seal Liverpool's place in theChampions League final, where they would take onAC Milan, famously coming back from 3–0 down and winning the Champions League on penalties.

Prior to the match, Chelsea were in hot pursuit of Steven Gerrard. Liverpool had rejected a £32,000,000 bid from Chelsea, however, in a shocking turn of events, Gerrard had rejected a £100,000-a-week contract offer and had submitted a transfer request, just six weeks after inspiring the comeback to help Liverpool win their fifth Champions League. He eventually changed his mind, soon after signing a new four-year deal and later stating that he would rather win one Premier League title at Liverpool than multiple at Chelsea, as it would mean more to him. Chelsea's failed signing of Liverpool's elite poster boy resulted in yet more bad blood developing between the two sets of supporters.

As for thePremier League season, Chelsea were runaway winners, winning their first Premier League title (second overall), finishing twelve points clear of second-placedArsenal. They amassed a then record-setting 95 points, also winning 29 games, a record Chelsea themselves broke in 2016-17 with 30 wins^{[23][circular reference]} (both broken byManchester City in2017–18) and conceding 15 goals, a record that still stands to this day as the best defensive record in Premier League history. Liverpool, meanwhile, finished fifth (a regression fromthe previous season), behind theirMerseyside derby rivalsEverton, who finished fourth, and 37 points behind Chelsea. However, this also meant that despite being the winners of the 2004–05 Champions League, they were not guaranteed a place innext season's edition, as they had finished outside of the top four of the Premier League. On 10 June 2005,UEFA decided to grant Liverpool special dispensation to defend their title, however, they would have to enter in thefirst qualifying round, and were denied country protection, which meant they could face any English team at any stage of the competition.^[24][25][26]

Liverpool would go on to defeatThe New Saints,FBK Kaunas andCSKA Sofia in the Champions League first, second and third qualifying rounds, respectively, to advance to thegroup stage, where they were drawn inGroup G, along with Chelsea,Anderlecht, andReal Betis, although both of their matches against Chelsea were 0–0 draws.^[27] Liverpool would finish top of the group with 12 points, with Chelsea finishing second, just behind the Reds with 11. Mourinho's Chelsea would manage to get the better of Liverpool in their Premier League clashes, defeating them 4–1 away at Anfield in October 2005, which made them the first Premier League opposition team to score four goals at Anfield^[a] and also beating them 2–0 at Stamford Bridge in February 2006. However, Benítez's Liverpool were victorious in theirsemi-final encounter in theFA Cup, winning 2–1, ending Chelsea's hopes for their first everdouble and progressing to theFA Cup final, where Steven Gerrard would score an equaliser in added time to help Liverpool defeatWest Ham United 3–1 on penalties, in what became known asThe Gerrard Final. After the match, Mourinho refused to shake Benítez's hand and claimed that the best team had lost, pointing to his side's superior league position, stating: "Did the best team win? I don't think so. In a one-off game, maybe they will surprise me and they can do it. In the Premiership, the distance between the teams is 45 points over two seasons."

Chelsea would win thePremier League for a second consecutive season, finishing on 91 points, whereas Liverpool, who were also title contenders throughout the season as well, finished third on 82 points, a point behind second-placed Manchester United, and 9 points behind Chelsea.

As Chelsea and Liverpool were the respective winners of the2005–06 Premier League and the2005–06 FA Cup, this meant that they would be playing each other in the2006 FA Community Shield on 13 August 2006, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the same venue that hosted the2005 Football League Cup final a year and a half prior, which saw Chelsea beat Liverpool 3–2. Chelsea were also thedefending champions, having beaten theirLondon rivals Arsenal the previous year. The Blues were making their sixth appearance in the Community Shield, having previously won in1955 and2000, and losing in1970 and1997. Liverpool, on the other hand, were appearing for the 21st time, emerging outright victorious eight times (1966,1976,1979,1980,1982,1988,1989,2001), sharing the shield six times (1964,1965,1974,1977,1986,1990) and losing it six times (1922,1971,1983,1984,1992,2002). In the match, John Arne Riise opened the scoring for Liverpool early in the first half, only for Chelsea's recently signed forwardAndriy Shevchenko to equalise shortly before half-time. Both sides had chances to win the match in the second half, but aPeter Crouch goal late in the half ensured Liverpool won the match 2–1, and won their 15th Community Shield.

The two teams were again drawn against each other in theChampions League, squaring off in thesemi-finals of the competition. Chelsea would win the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 courtesy of a goal fromJoe Cole, but Liverpool won the second leg 1–0 as well at Anfield, with Daniel Agger ensuring the tie finished 1–1 onaggregate. The team that would progress was decided in a penalty shootout. Liverpool would win the penalty shootout 4–1, sending them to theirsecond Champions League final in three years, which would be a rematch of the2005 edition, which sawAC Milan get their revenge on Liverpool and defeat them 2–1.

The following season saw José Mourinho depart Chelsea in September 2007 by mutual consent, and would replaced byAvram Grant, but they would still defeat Liverpool 2–0 in the quarter-finals of theLeague Cup, with goals fromFrank Lampard andAndriy Shevchenko sending the Reds crashing out of the competition. Chelsea and Liverpool were drawn against each other yet again in thesemi-finals of theChampions League. In the first leg at Anfield, aDirk Kuyt goal two minutes before half-time put Liverpool ahead, and the scoreline would remain unchanged until the 95th minute, which sawJohn Arne Riise scoredown goal to give Chelsea an advantage, with the match finishing 1–1 and the Blues heading into the second leg at Stamford Bridge with a crucial away goal. Chelsea would defeat Liverpool 3–2, with abrace fromDidier Drogba and an emotional penalty from Frank Lampard seeing Chelsea finally get the better of Liverpool in the Champions League, and sending them to theirfirst ever Champions League final, which they would go on to lose 6–5 on penalties toManchester United.

On 26 October 2008, Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the ninth gameweek of thenew Premier League campaign. At this point, Chelsea were top of the Premier League, and Liverpool were second, with both teams having 20 points and Chelsea having a +9 superior goal difference. Chelsea hadn't lost a home match in the Premier League in over four and a half years, last losing at Stamford Bridge toArsenal in February 2004, and were looking to extend their lead at the top of the table and their home unbeaten run to 87 games. In surprising fashion, however, Liverpool would defeat Chelsea 1–0, with a 10th-minute strike fromXabi Alonso that deflected off Chelsea defenderJosé Bosingwa sending the Reds to the top of the Premier League and ending the Blues' record-setting 86-game home unbeaten run, their first home league defeat in over four years, which is still the record for the most home games unbeaten in the Premier League.^[30] In the reverse fixture at Anfield in February 2009, Liverpool defeated Chelsea again, this time winning 2–0, with both goals coming fromFernando Torres late in the game. This was the first season in Premier League history that Liverpool had completed a Premier League double over Chelsea. They would also finish second, above Chelsea who finished third, making it the first Premier League season since2001–02 where Liverpool finished above Chelsea in the Premier League table.

In thequarter finals of theChampions League, Liverpool and Chelsea were drawn against each other again, marking the fifth consecutive season in which they played together in the Champions League, the most in Champions League history. In the first leg at Anfield, Chelsea emphatically won 3–1, with two goals from defenderBranislav Ivanović and a goal fromDidier Drogba giving Chelsea an advantage in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, which saw both teams play out a thrilling 4–4 draw, with Chelsea winning 7–5 on aggregate and progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League. From 2004 to 2009, Chelsea and Liverpool met a staggering 24 times.^[31][32][33]

AfterRafael Benítez departed from Liverpool in June 2010, the club struggled greatly under new managerRoy Hodgson, which saw them nine out of their first twenty matches in thePremier League and sitting 12th in the table, and one of the players who struggled was elite Spanish strikerFernando Torres. Despite Torres having a successful three and a half seasons at Liverpool, which saw him score 81 goals in nearly 150 appearances, he failed to win a single trophy at the club. Chelsea had previously expressed interest in signing Torres in 2008, but Torres responded by saying it would be "many years" before he left Liverpool.^[34][35] On 27 January 2011, Liverpool rejected a £40,000,000 bid from Chelsea for Torres, which was followed by Torres handing in a transfer request the next day, which was also rejected. Chelsea finally completed the signing of Torres on 31 January 2011, for £50,000,000, a then British transfer record and making Torres thesixth most expensive player in football history at the time, with the signing enraging Liverpool fans and boiling the blood in the rivalry even further.

Ironically, Torres made his Chelsea debut against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 6 February, where was he was greeted with flags and signs held up by Liverpool fans labelling him as a "traitor". Liverpool would go on to beat Chelsea 1–0, with a 69th-minute goal fromRaul Meireles putting Fernando Torres' Chelsea debut in vain.

Thenext season's edition of thePremier League saw both Chelsea and Liverpool underperform, with both teams finishing outside of the top four, which in normal circumstances would have saw them both absent from Europe entirely next season, with Chelsea, who finished sixth, qualifying forthe Champions League as theChampions League winners, which also put theirfierce London rivalsTottenham Hotspur, who finished fourth, in the nightmare scenario of finishing in the top four and still not qualifying for the Champions League, who had to settle forEuropa League football instead. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who finished 8th, qualified for thethird qualifying round of the Europa League as the runners-up of theFA Cup. However, Liverpool still managed to do a Premier League double over Chelsea, defeating them both home and away, which included a 4–1 humiliation at Anfield in May 2012.

On 5 May 2012, Chelsea and Liverpool faced off in thefinal of theFA Cup for the very first time, atWembley Stadium. Chelsea were looking to win their first trophy of theseason, being managed by interim managerRoberto Di Matteo, who was prosperous about being appointed as Chelsea manager on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who were being managed by club legendKenny Dalglish, had already won theLeague Cup by beatingCardiff City on penalties in thefinal, also defeating Chelsea 2–0 in the fifth round en route to the final, and were aiming for a double. For Chelsea, this was their 11th appearance in a FA Cup final, having won on six occasions (1970,1997,2000,2007,2009,2010) and lost on four occasions (1915,1967,1994,2002). As for Liverpool, this was their 14th FA Cup final, winning the trophy seven times (1965,1974,1986,1989,1992,2001,2006) and being beaten six times (1914,1950,1971,1977,1988,1996). On their way to the final, Chelsea defeatedPortsmouth,West London rivalsQueens Park Rangers,Birmingham City,Leicester City, andLondon rivalsTottenham Hotspur, whereas Liverpool defeatedOldham Athletic,rivalsManchester United,Brighton & Hove Albion,Stoke City, andMerseyside rivalsEverton to earn their place in the final.

In the match,Ramires put Chelsea in front in the 11th minute after he dispossessed Liverpool midfielderJay Spearing and beatPepe Reina in the Liverpool area. Chelsea extended their lead in the 52nd minute when strikerDidier Drogba scored. Liverpool substituteAndy Carroll scored in the 64th minute to reduce the deficit to one goal. Carroll thought he had scored a second in the 81st minute, but his header was saved on the line by Chelsea goalkeeperPetr Čech. Carroll ran off celebrating, thinking he had equalised and the ball had crossed the line, but refereePhil Dowd did not award a goal (unlike theLuis García "ghost goal" seven years prior), and Chelsea held on to win the match 2–1 and theFA Cup for the seventh time.

On 21 April 2013, during Liverpool's 2–2 draw with Chelsea in a Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool strikerLuis Suárez bit Chelsea defenderBranislav Ivanović. This was not the first time that something like this had happened; it was the second time that Suárez had bitten an opponent.^[36] It was not noticed by the officials, and Suárez scored an equalizer in injury time.^[37] The bite promptedUK Prime MinisterDavid Cameron to call on the FA to take a hard line with Suárez: the FA charged him with violent conduct and he was fined an undisclosed sum by his club.^[38] Contrary to claims from Suárez, Ivanović did not accept an apology.^[38] Suárez accepted the violent conduct charge but denied the FA's claim the standard punishment of three matches was clearly insufficient for his offence.^[39] A three-man independent panel appointed by the FA decided on a ten-game ban for Suárez, who did not appeal the ban; the panel criticized Suárez for not appreciating "the seriousness" of the incident when he argued against a long ban. The panel also wanted to send a "strong message that such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football", while noting that "all players in the higher level of the game are seen as role models, have the duty to act professionally and responsibly, and set the highest example of good conduct to the rest of the game – especially to young players".^[40]

The2013–14 Premier League season saw Chelsea, Liverpool,Arsenal andManchester City battle it out in a four-way title race, which eventually boiled down to Chelsea, Liverpool, and City. Chelsea did the Premier League double over both Liverpool and Manchester City, but inconsistent form and losses against the low-block teams saw them fail to win the Premier League.

On 27 April 2014, Liverpool, now managed byBrendan Rodgers, welcomed Chelsea, now managed by a returningJosé Mourinho, to Anfield. At this point, the high-flying Reds were top of the Premier League on 80 points with just three games to go, five points clear of second-placed Chelsea and six of third-placedManchester City (who had a game in hand). They had also scored nearly a century of Premier League goals, and were on course to win their first everPremier League title, which would have happened if they were to win their last three games, which were Chelsea at home,Crystal Palaceaway, andNewcastle United at home. Additionally, a win against Chelsea would have seen the Blues be unable to catch Liverpool, as they would have been eight points behind them with two games left had they have won.

The match sawSteven Gerrard infamously slip while receiving a pass in first half injury-time, which allowedDemba Ba to score for Chelsea and put them 1–0 up at Anfield. Liverpool ultimately were unable to equalise, as a goal fromWillian in the dying moments of the game saw Chelsea run out 2–0 winners, with Liverpool only now being two points clear of their rivals from London and three points of clear of Manchester City, who had a game in hand and had +8 superior goal difference. Liverpool followed this up by throwing away a 3–0 lead at Crystal Palace and only managing to come out with a 3–3 draw, all but confirming Manchester City's Premier League victory.

Thenext season, Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 10 May 2015, who at this point had been top of the Premier League for every single matchday. Liverpool provided aguard of honour for Chelsea before kick off. The match finished 1–1, with the goals coming fromJohn Terry and Steven Gerrard. In the match, Gerrard, who had confirmed a few months prior that he would be departing from Liverpool at the end of the season, received a standing ovation from both the Liverpool and Chelsea fans as he was being substituted off. In a post-match interview, Gerrard had mixed feelings about being clapped off the pitch by Chelsea fans, stating:

"I was more happy with the ovation from the Liverpool fans. I think Chelsea fans have showed respect for a couple of seconds for me, but they've slaughtered me all game, so I'm not going to get drawn into wishing the Chelsea fans very well. It was nice of them to turn up for once today. But yeah, you know when you get a standing ovation at a stadium, it's nice, but what's important to me is the support from the Liverpool fans and they've been with me since day one."

Since then, the rivalry has cooled down a little bit, though fans of both clubs still hold a dislike for each other. Liverpool, then underJürgen Klopp, would beat Chelsea in four successive major finals during this period: the2019 UEFA Super Cup, the2022 EFL Cup final and the2022 FA Cup final (all on penalties), as well as finally winning their firstPremier League title in the2019–20 season. The two clubs met again in the final of the2024 EFL Cup, with Liverpool winning 1–0 in extra-time thanks to a header from Reds captainVirgil van Dijk.^[42] Chelsea also gave Liverpool a guard of honour when the latter won the2019–20 and2024–25 titles.

Below are the players who have played for both Chelsea and Liverpool.^[43][44]

Mohamed Salah joined Chelsea in 2014, but was used sparingly, only making 19 appearances in total for the club.^[45]

The Egyptian signed for Liverpool in 2017, scoring 44 goals in his debut season. With Liverpool, Salah has won thePremier League, theUEFA Champions League, and theFIFA Club World Cup.^[46]

Player	Pos.	Chelsea			Liverpool
		Tenure	Apps	Goals	Tenure	Apps	Goals
Tony Hateley	FW	1966–1967	33	9	1967–1968	56	28
Nigel Spackman	MF	1983–1987 1992–1996	208	12	1987–1989	51	0
Boudewijn Zenden	FW	2001–2004	59	4	2005–2007	49	2
Glen Johnson	DF	2003–2007	72	4	2009–2015	200	9
Joe Cole	FW	2003–2010	282	39	2010–2013	42	5
Fabio Borini	FW	2009–2011	8	0	2012–2015	38	3
Daniel Sturridge	FW	2009–2011	96	24	2013–2019	160	67
Victor Moses	MF	2012–2021	128	18	2013–2014	22	2
Mohamed Salah	FW	2014–2016	19	2	2017–present	411	248
Dominic Solanke	FW	2014–2017	1	0	2017–2019	27	1

Fernando Torres arrived at Liverpool in 2007, becoming the fastest Liverpool player to score 50 Premier League goals.^[47]

Torres left Liverpool in January 2011 to join Chelsea fora then British record transfer fee of £50,000,000. At Chelsea, Torres won theFA Cup,UEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League, though his goalscoring rate and performances drastically declined.^[48]

Player	Pos.	Liverpool			Chelsea
		Tenure	Apps	Goals	Tenure	Apps	Goals
Alf Hanson	FW	1931–1938	177	50	1938–1946	45	9
Joey Jones	DF	1975–1978	100	3	1982–1985	78	2
Nicolas Anelka	FW	2001–2002	22	5	2008–2012	184	59
Yossi Benayoun	MF	2007–10	134	29	2010–13	24	1
Fernando Torres	FW	2007–2011	142	81	2011–2015	172	45
Raul Meireles	MF	2010–2011	44	5	2011–2012	48	6
Raheem Sterling	FW	2012–2015	129	23	2022–present	81	19

As of 13 July 2025

As of 4 October 2025^[49]

Rank	Player	Club	Appearances
1	Jamie Carragher	Liverpool	45
2	Steven Gerrard		40
3	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	39
	John Terry
5	Ron Harris		31
6	Petr Čech		30
7	Didier Drogba		28
	Ian Callaghan	Liverpool
9	Pepe Reina		27
10	Jordan Henderson		26

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Goals
1	Ian Rush	Liverpool	10
2	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	9
	Roger Hunt	Liverpool
4	Bobby Tambling	Chelsea	8
5	Robbie Fowler	Liverpool	7
	Frank Lampard	Chelsea
	Fernando Torres	Liverpool Chelsea
8	Kerry Dixon	Chelsea	6
	Billy Liddell	Liverpool
	Dick Spence	Chelsea
	Sadio Mane	Liverpool

• Chelsea2–1 Liverpool: 89,102 (5 May 2012),Wembley Stadium (neutral)^[50]
• Chelsea0–1 Liverpool: 88,868 (25 February 2024),Wembley Stadium (neutral)^[51]
• Chelsea0–0 Liverpool: 85,512 (27 February 2022),Wembley Stadium (neutral)^[52]
• Chelsea0–0 Liverpool: 84,897 (14 May 2022),Wembley Stadium (neutral)^[53]
• Liverpool2–3 Chelsea: 78,000 (27 February 2005),Millennium Stadium (neutral)^[54]
• Liverpool 2–0 Chelsea: 67,686 (27 March 1965),Villa Park (Aston Villa home)^[55]
• Chelsea 1–2 Liverpool: 64,575 (22 April 2006),Old Trafford (Manchester United home)^[56]
• Chelsea 4–0 Liverpool: 62,587 (16 April 1965),Stamford Bridge (Chelsea home)^[57]
• Liverpool 2–1 Chelsea: 60,277 (20 October 2024),Anfield (Liverpool home)^[58]
• Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea: 58,757 (27 December 1949),Anfield (Liverpool home)^[59]

• List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom

• Graham, Matthew (1985).Liverpool. Hamlyn Publishing Group.ISBN 0-600-50254-6.
• Kelly, Stephen F. (1988).You'll Never Walk Alone. Queen Anne Press.ISBN 0-356-19594-5.

• 11v11

• Chelsea F.C.
• Liverpool F.C.
• Football derbies in England

• Pages with login required references or sources
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